Embossing tool with self loading tape feed mechanism

ABSTRACT

A simplified hand-held, hand-operated, plastic tape embossing tool having a novel means for engaging the distal end of a coil of tape disposed in a cartridge or magazine and for feeding the same to and through a tape embossing station, without the necessity of manually feeding such tape end through the normal tape feed rolls.

m 14151 Jan. 25, 1972 [541 EMBOSSING TOOL WITH SELF 3,155,215 1 l/l964Avery ..l97/6.7 LQADING A FEED MECHANISM 3,307,674 3/1967 Massen et a1...l97/6.7 3,323,629 6/1967 Stettner 197/67 [72] inven or: J hn McMahon,Livermo e, C lif- 3,389,772 6/1968 Sjogren et al. ..197/6.7 [73]Assignee: lDymo Industries, Inc., Emeryville, Calif. Primary ExaminerEdgar S. Bu" [22] Filed: Nov. 10, 1969 Attorney-Harris Zimmerman [21]Appl. No.: 875,467 [57] ABSTRACT A simplified hand-held, hand-operated,plastic tape embossing 2? F 'i gz i9i g tool having a novel means forengaging the distal end ofa coil f i g of tape disposed in a cartridgeor magazine and for feeding the l I 0 care same to and through a tapeembossing station, without the necessity of manually feeding such tapeend through the nor- [56] References Cited ma! tape feed rous- UNITEDSTATES PATENTS 13 Claims, 4 Drawing Figures 3,127,989 4/1964 Travaglio..197/6.7 X

PATENTEuJmz s 1972 INVENTOR JOHN Mc MAHON ATTORNEY BACKGROUND 1. Fieldoflnvention This invention pertains to an embossing tool and moreparticularly concerns a self-loading means for feeding a tape or stripof plastic embossing material from a supply cartridge to and throughsuch tool.

2. Prior Art Hand-operated embossing tools of the type shown, forexample, in US. Pat. Nos. 3,006,456 Souza; 3,083,807 Travaglio;3,091,318 Carboni; 3,091,319 Sanders et al.; and 3,133,495 De Man, eachinclude a manually operable knob connected to suitable tape feed'rollers through which the distal end of a coil of tape must be fed whena new supply of such tape is placed in the tool. The knob is thenrotated by the fingers of an operator to bring the forward portion of astrip of embossing material to the correct position at an embossingstation in the tool. It has been deemed desirable to provide for thispreliminary feeding ofthe strip material by some means or manner thatwould eliminate the manually tape feeding rotation. By so eliminatingthis step, speed and ease in starting the strip material in an embossingtool would be substantially increased.

SUMMARY The present invention is achieved in a hand-held, handoperatedembossing tool by providing a mechanical linkage between a cartridgehaving strip material coiled therein and the trigger mechanism thateffects the embossing operation so that the entire cartridge isretracted a precise distance away from the embossing unit station as thetrigger is squeezed manually; and during such retraction of thecartridge the end portion of the strip material, which extends outwardlyof the cartridge, is restrained by a one-way catch pawl fromcorresponding movement away from the embossing unit. In this manner aprecise length of strip material is pulled or fed out of the cartridge.Release of the trigger will cause the cartridge to be pulled forward toits former position and in so doing the end portion of the stripmaterial extending outwardly of the cartridge is moved forward on towardthe embossing unit a precise amount.

Repeated operation of the trigger, which is also used to operate theembossing unit, causes continued incremental advancement of the stripmaterial to and through the embossing unit in the embossing tool.

Additionally, the arrangement is such that when a new cartridge isplaced in the tool, it is only necessary to have the free end of thetape coil extend outwardly from the cartridge. Then, by operation of thetrigger, the tape end will automatically be engaged and advanced to theembossing station, without any manual feeding of such end into the tapedrive means.

The features of novelty that are considered characteristic of thisinvention are set forth with particularity in the appended claims. Theorganization and method of operation of the in vention may best beunderstood from the following description when read in connection withthe accompanying drawing.

BrIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIG. I is a side cutaway view of anembossing tool according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a partial view of the rear portion of the embossing tool ofFIG. 1 showing details of the operation of the present invention in oneposition of the trigger mechanism.

FIG. 3 is a partial view of the rear portion of the embossing tool ofFIG. 1 showing further details of the operation of the present inventionin another position of the trigger mechanism.

FIG. 4 is an end view of the embossing tool of FIG. 1 looking in thedirection of view lines 44 of FIG. 1.

DESCRIPTION OF A PREFERRED EMBODIMENT The embossing tool 10 of thepresent invention includes a first or right-hand body portion I2, and asecond or left-hand body portion 14. Each of the body portions may beformed from a single piece of material such as: by casting or molding ofmetal or strong plastic material. The two body portions are then fittedtogether, as best shown in FIG. 4, to enclose the other mechanisms ofthe tool as will now be described.

The forward end of each body portion is formed with a pin or studreceiving opening 16; each opening 16 faces or opens toward the otheropening on the other body position. In FIG. 1 only the opening 16associated with the right-hand body portion is shown.

The lower portions of each body portion are provided with a triggerreceiving cutout as best shown in FIG. I by the dotted line or edge 18which shows the edge of the trigger receiving cutout for the right-handbody portion 12.

A trigger member 20, shown best in FIG. 1 as being hollow and open atits top portion, has a pair of pivot studs or pins 22 (only theright-hand stud is illustrated in FIG. 1) extending outwardly fromrespective opposite sides of the trigger member near its forward end andfit into the corresponding openings 16. The trigger member is thuspivotable about the openings 16 in the plane of the tool as shown bydirection arrow 24. Stop lugs 26 formed on the rearward end of each sideof the trigger member 20 engage a corresponding stop member 28 providedin the inner portion of the body portions 12 and 14 near the rear of thetrigger receiving cutouts for limiting the clockwise movement of thetrigger member 20 (as viewed in FIG. 1).

An embossing die engaging lug 30 is provided on the upper portion of thetrigger member so as to engage with selective ones of the plurality ofcharacter dies on a rotatable die wheel 32 when the trigger member issqueezed or fully operated in the counterclockwise direction (as viewedin FIG. 1).

The forward portion of the trigger member 20 is provided with a cutoutat its lower or bottom portion as best shown in FIG. 1 by left-hand edge34 of the trigger members cutout. A tape or strip cutter lever 36 isdisposed within the trigger members forward end and pivoted on the sameaxis as the pivot axis of trigger member 20. A stop lug 40 at theextreme forward edge of the cutter lever engages with the extremeforward walls 42 of the body portions 12 and 14 to limit the clockwisemovement (as viewed in FIG. 1) of the cutter lever. A cutter bed oranvil 44 is formed on the upper forward end of the cutter lever 36 formovement into engagement with embossed strip material that may bedisposed in a strip path directly beneath a pair of cutter knives 48disposed on a mounting bracket 50 when the cutter lever is squeezed ormanually actuated in the counterclockwise direction, as shown bydirection arrow 52.

A spring mounting post 54 is formed on the inside of the right-hand bodyportion 12. A trigger member and cutter lever biasing spring 56 ismounted on the post 54. The rearward end of spring 56 bears against thetop of a lug 58 on the trigger member 20 while the forward end of thespring 56 bears against the top of a lug 60 formed on the rearward endof the cutter lever 36. The force or bias of the spring 56 is such as toreleasably or yieldably bias both the trigger member 20 and cutter lever36 in their clockwise direction (as viewed in FIG. 1). It can also beobserved that the trigger member 20, and the cutter lever 36 are movableor pivotable independently of each other.

A mounting bracket 50 extending from the forward end of the bodyportions 12 and 14 to a position above the rearward end of the triggermember 20 is suitably fitted in appropriate receiving slots formed inthe body portions.

A circular embossing disc 32 is mounted on the middle portion of thebracket 50. Details of the embossing disc and its cooperation with thelug 30 are not necessary to understanding the present invention and nofurther discussion is made of the disc here except to point out thatembossing strip or tape material is fed in a path of travel between maleand female dies of the disc as will be described below. Details of thestructure and operation of the disc 32 may be found in any of the U.S.patents mentioned above.

The rearward end of the bracket 50 includes a downwardly projecting armor section 62, the lower end of which is provided with a rearwardlyprojecting arm or platform 64.

A resilient pawl or embossing strip engaging member 66 is mounted on theupper surface of the arm 64 and slopes in the forward direction. Theextreme upper end of the pawl 66 is spaced beneath a strip bearingplatform 68, formed by lateral protrusions provided on the body portions12 and 14, by a distance just slightly greater than the thickness of thestrip material 70 to be fed through the tool as described below.

The rearmost end of the body portions 12 and 14 defines a rearwardlydirected opening 72 through which a strip material cartridge 74 may beinserted, the material being contained in the cartridge in coil form asbest illustrated in FIG. 2 of the drawing. The design of the cartridgeand its structural and functional cooperation with portions of the toolhereinafter described comprise an important portion of the presentinvention, so some description will first be made of the cartridgeitself.

The cartridge 74 is preferably formed of plastic having opposedsidewalls 76, rear wall 78, a top wall 80 and a bottom wall 82. Thesidewalls are separable, such as by a hinge joint 84 permitting a coilof strip material to be placed therebetween about a central post 86extending from one of the walls. An opening 88 is provided in the otherwall circumscribing the post. A pair of horizontally spaced ribs 90 areprovided on the exterior surface of each wall on both sides of theopening 88 for a purpose to be presently explained, and extendingforwardly from the center of the cartridge is a bracket 92 whose forwarddistal end is provided with a pin 94, extending laterally outward fromthe plane of each Wall and lying along the longitudinal axis of theribs. Subjacent the bracket 92 the cartridge has a curved opening 96terminating at the bottom wall 82. Slotlike openings 98 are alsoprovided in sidewalls 76 adjacent the rear wall for viewing the amountof strip material in the cartridge. The top wall 80 of the cartridge isprovided with a tangential extension 99 terminating a general verticalalignment with pin 94. A tab element 100 extends forwardly and upwardlyfrom bracket 92 and its upper end is positioned adjacent the lowersurface of extension 98 in such a manner as to resiliently urge theemerging strip from the coil to be forced against the extension in atangential disposition to the coil. The angular relationship of the tabpermits the strip to be withdrawn from the cartridge, but effectivelyprevents contramovement into the cartridge.

Returning to the rear body portions adjacent the opening 72, the opposedinner portions 12 and 14 are provided with horizontally extending railsI02 defining a channel 104 therebetwecn extending to the rear end of thetool. When the cartridge 74 is inserted through the opening 72, the pin94 and the ribs 90 will slide in the channel 104, and the cartridge willbe restrained against movement in the tool other than in a fore and afthorizontal direction.

In placing the cartridge into the tool, the supply end of the embossingmaterial may extend past tab 100 in underlying relation to the exterior98 and terminate at the forward end of the latter. The tab, as aboveexplained, will permit pulling or withdrawal of the material so as tofeed the same to the embossing station. Extending rearwardly andupwardly from the lower end of cam slot 106 is a cam surface 108normally positioned in the path of the pin 94 of the cartridge.

Insertion of the cartridge 74 into the rear opening 72 of the tool 10,as shown in FIG. 1, causes the pin 94 to bear against the cam surface108, raising the trigger member and permitting further insertion of thecartridge into the tool. Manual squeezing or operation of the triggermember 20 in a counterclockwise direction, while still pushing inwardlyon the cartridge 74, brings the lower open end of cam slots 106 intoalignment with the cartridge pin 94, the pin entering the lower end ofthe cam slots as best shown in FIG. 3.

Removal of squeezing force on the trigger member 20 permits the force ofbiasing spring 56 to return the trigger to its clockwise most positionas shown in FIG. 2. As the trigger member 20 thus returns to its normalclockwise most position, the sloped cam-slot 106 acts on the pin 94 tofurther pull the cartridge 74 fully into the tool 10. Of course, as thecartridge is pulled fully into the tool, the exterior 98 and the stripmaterial 70 lying subjacent the same will be positioned between theflexible pawl 66 and platform 68.

Now, to advance the strip material from the cartridge, squeezing ormanual operation of the trigger member 20 in the counterclockwisedirection will cause the sloped cam slot 106 to push rearwardly againstthe cartridge pin 94 and move the cartridge rearwardly in the tool 10 bya precise incremental distance as illustrated in FIG. 3. If, at thistime, there is strip material 70 disposed in proper embossing positionwith respect to the disc 32, further squeezing of the trigger member 20will cause embossing of a character on the strip material in theconventional manner. However, such further squeezing of the triggermember does not cause further rearward movement of the cartridge sincethe pin is no longer being pushed by the cam slot.

As the cartridge is moved rearwardly in the manner above described, itis important to note that the upper edge of pawl 66 which already urgesthe strip material against the lower surface of extension 99 willprevent corresponding rearward movement of the material. In other words,the tape or strip material remains stationary while the extension 99moves rearwardly, sliding over the tape. If desired, and as indicated,further pressure of the pawl against the tape may be effected by rockingthe pawl in a clockwise direction by causing the upper portion of cam108 to engage the forward surface of the pawl. This latter procedure isnot essential, since in most circumstances it has been found that theforward slope of the pawl prevents the relative rearward withdrawal ofthe cartridge extension while holding the strip material stationary.When the trigger is released, forward movement of the cartridge, asabove explained, causes the strip material to advance with thecartridge. In this latter connection, it is important to note that tabassists in the forward movement of the strip material with thecartridge. Without such a device, the material could remain stationaryrelative to the tool and merely recoil itself in the cartridge.

Upon release of squeezing force on trigger member 20 the cartridge pinis once again engaged by the cam slot and the cartridge 74 is once againadvanced by a precise distance into the tool, causing furtheradvancement of the protruding end of strip material into and through thetool, in the same manner as described previously.

it can thus be appreciated that there has been shown and described animproved and novel embossing tool which includes a minimum number ofmoving parts, and such parts as are included provide for a unique stripfeeding and advancing means in an embossing tool.

l claim:

1. In a tool for embossing characters on a strip material, said toolhaving body means and a manually operable trigger member, an improvedmeans for advancing said strip mate rial through said tool, saidadvancing means comprising:

supply means for holding said strip material in a coil with one end ofthe coil extending tangentially outwardly of said supply means;

means for slidably receiving said supply means in said body means;

means for moving said supply means a predetermined distance in onedirection in said body means upon manual application of a force to saidtrigger member;

means for moving said supply means in the direction opposite to said onedirection by a distance equal to said predetermined distance in responseto release of said manually applied force;

means engageable with said one end of said strip material,

said frictionally engageable means permitting advancement of said oneend of said strip material in one direction as said supply means ismoved in said one direction and inhibiting movement of said one end ofsaid strip material with respect to said body means as said supply meansis moved in said opposite direction.

2. In a tool according to claim 1 wherein said trigger member includes acam surface, and wherein said supply means includes a member engageablewith said cam surface, said cam surface effecting movement of saidsupply means as said trigger member is operated.

3. In a tool according to claim 1 wherein said frictionally engageablemeans comprises a resilient pawl mounted on said body means.

4. In a tool according to claim 1 wherein said body means includes railmembers for guiding movement of said supply means within said bodymeans.

5. In a tool according to claim 2 wherein said cam surfaces are formedon said trigger member and are sloped in the direction of movement ofsaid one end of said strip material.

6. In a tool according to claim 5 wherein said frictionally engageablemeans includes a resilient pawl sloped in the direction of movement ofsaid one end of said strip material, and wherein said body meansincludes a platform disposed adjacent said one end of said stripmaterial, said pawl urging said one end of said strip material intosliding contact with said platform.

7. In a tool according to claim 1 wherein said tool includes anembossing unit, and said trigger member includes means for actuatingsaid embossing unit as said trigger member is operated.

3. In a tool according to claim 7 wherein said means for moving saidsupply means is inactive when said trigger member is actuating saidembossing unit.

9. In a tool according to claim 7 wherein said trigger member effectsmovement of said supply means during only a first position of theoperation of said trigger member, and effects operation of saidembossing unit during only a second position of the operation of saidtrigger member.

10. In a tool according to claim 9 wherein said trigger member isprovided with a cam slot open at one end, and said supply means includesa pin engageable in said cam slot, said cam slot being arranged to pushsaid pin out of said cam slot upon operation of said trigger member fromits first position to its second position.

Ill. In a tool according to claim I in which said supply means isprovided with a tab frictionally engaging said one end of said stripmaterial, said tab permitting egress of said material from said supplymeans while restraining ingress thereof.

12. In a tool according to claim 11 in which said supply means isprovided with a tangential extension overlying said tab and overlyingsaid frictionally engageable means.

13. In an embossing tool of the character described having a body,embossing dies carried by said body, and a trigger member pivotallycarried on said body and operatively connected to said dies foractuating the latter, the combination therewith of supply means forstoring and dispensing strip material in coil form with one end of suchcoil extending outwardly from said supply means, means for moving saidsupply means away from said dies upon actuation of said trigger member,and means operatively connected to said trigger member and releasablyengageable with said tape adjacent the coil thereof for grasping andmoving said tape linearly away from said coil during movement of saidtrigger member in one direction and movement of said supply means awayfrom said dies.

1. In a tool for embossing characters on a strip material, said toolhaving body means and a manually operable trigger member, an improvedmeans for advancing said strip material through said tool, saidadvancing means comprising: supply means for holding said strip materialin a coil with one end of the coil extending tangentially outwardly ofsaid supply means; means for slidably receiving said supply means insaid body means; means for moving said supply means a predetermineddistance in one direction in said body means upon manual application ofa force to said trigger member; means for moving said supply means inthe direction opposite to said one direction by a distance equal to saidpredetermined distance in response to release of said manually appliedforce; means frictionally engageable with said one end of said stripmaterial, said frictionally engageable means permitting advancement ofsaid one end of said strip material in one direction as said supplymeans is moved in said one direction and inhibiting movement of said oneend of said strip material with respect to said body means as saidsupply means is moved in said opposite direction.
 2. In a tool accordingto claim 1 wherein said trigger member includes a cam surface, andwherein said supply means includes a member engageable with said camsurface, said cam surface effecting movement of said supply means assaid trigger member is operated.
 3. In a tool according to claim 1wherein said frictionally engageable means comprises a resilient pawlmounted on said body means.
 4. In a tool according to claim 1 whereinsaid body means includes rail members for guiding movement of saidsupply means within said body means.
 5. In a tool according to claim 2wherein said cam surfaces are formed on said trigger member and aresloped in the direction of movement of said one end of said stripmaterial.
 6. In a tool according to claim 5 wherein said frictionallyengageable means includes a resilient pawl sloped in the direction ofmovement of said one end of said strip material, and wherein said bodymeans includes a platform disposed adjacent said one end of said stripmaterial, said pawl urging said one end of said strip material intosliding contact with said platform.
 7. In a tool according to claim 1wherein said tool includes an embossing unit, and said trigger memberincludes means for actuating said embossing unit as said trigger memberis operated.
 8. In a tool according to claim 7 wherein said means formoving said supply means is inactive when said trigger member isactuating said embossing unit.
 9. In a tool according to claim 7 whereinsaid trigger member effects movement of said supply means during only afirst position of the operation of said trigger member, and effectsoperation of said embossing unit during only a second position of theoperation of said trigger member.
 10. In a tool according to claim 9wherein said trigger member is provided with a cam slot open at one end,and said supply means includes a pin engageable in said cam slot, saidcam slot being arranged to push said pin out of said cam slot uponoperation of said trigger member from its first position to its secondposition.
 11. In a tool according to claim 1 in which said supply meansis provided with a tab frictionally engaging said one end of said stripmaterial, said tab permitting egress of said material from said supplymeans while restraining ingress thereof.
 12. In a tool according toclaim 11 in which said supply means is provided with a tangentialextension overlying said tab and overlying said frictionally engageablemeans.
 13. In an embossing tool of the character described having abody, embossing dies carried by said body, and a trigger memberpivotally carried on said body anD operatively connected to said diesfor actuating the latter, the combination therewith of supply means forstoring and dispensing strip material in coil form with one end of suchcoil extending outwardly from said supply means, means for moving saidsupply means away from said dies upon actuation of said trigger member,and means operatively connected to said trigger member and releasablyengageable with said tape adjacent the coil thereof for grasping andmoving said tape linearly away from said coil during movement of saidtrigger member in one direction and movement of said supply means awayfrom said dies.